International Women’s Day: Celebrating Women In Design

At least, I’d like to think that we can all express it—through a variety of mediums and styles. And although history hasn’t always given recognition to everyone, art can still be found in the caves, halls, laptops and devices of nearly any person wanting a voice or searching for an answer.

Over the last 100 years, the influence of women in design has especially been felt through the decades of social work and advocacy from the Women’s Suffrage Movement. Now, with the internet, we gain access to a new generation of women hoping to make their mark in design.

So to celebrate International Women’s Day in 2019, let’s take a moment to highlight the remarkable work of seven women in this exciting digital field. Learn more about these Envato authors and their work and stories.

Kerry

Astrologer Kerry Kershaw is an avid artist who transports her viewers to exciting, natural worlds. Inspired by her love of travel, FortySixandTwo has become her haven for stunning flyer templates and stationery essentials. Let’s discover who has inspired her through the years.

Q: Which women have inspired your career path?

I mostly get my inspiration from so many different places and from listening to my heart. Anais Nin, Debra Silverman, Elizabeth Hiach are a few of the women I follow.

The owner of a publishing company, Kerry shares her favorite work with us.

Q: What work are you most proud of?

Creating my own brand, the Magic of I, and launching a publishing company in 2018. I self-published a completely custom, small batch 2019 Astrological Planner that I designed, illustrated and wrote myself. I also crowdfunded just over 90k last year to get it sustainably produced, and have shared the moon and stars with over 5,000 customers all over the world.

Here is her advice on working in this creative field.

Q: What tip would you offer other women looking to work in your field?

Create space to listen. Create for you first—if it doesn’t light you up, excite you and make you feel alive then find something else. Life’s too short; the world needs your magic.

Irene

Freelance graphic designer Irene Demetri loves creating patterns and digital resources for her design community. A mother of twins, wife and digital designer, she makes simplistic designs that aim to facilitate the work styles of creatives everywhere. Here are her favorite designers.

Q: Which women have inspired your career path?

I have gotten inspiration from so many women during my career as a designer, usually by those who were strong and driven in what they did. As a child, I remember watching the film ‘Gorillas in the Mist’ and being so touched and inspired by Dian Fossey’s strong will, determination and love for what she did. She inspires me to this day.

The owner of Youandigraphics on Envato Elements, Irene shares with us an appreciation for all the creative work throughout her journey.

Q: What work are you most proud of?

I don’t think I can single out pieces of my work that I am most proud of, I am proud of any work I put out there at the time of its release. I make sure each piece reaches the top of my capabilities and knowledge while I am working on it so I can be proud once I release it. At the same time I am always looking at how I can improve my products making sure I learn from any mistakes or feedback I get.

Do you trust your gut? Irene recommends following your intuition.

Q: What tip would you offer other women looking to work in your field?

To trust their instincts and decisions! Being a freelancer means you need to make all your professional decisions by yourself and even though it is most helpful to ask for advice, at the end of the day you know what is best for you.

Carolina

Next is Carolina, a talented graphic designer from Sao Paulo, Brazil. After dedicating herself to becoming an accomplished Envato author, Carolina has created amazing digital resources of colorful abstract backgrounds and graphic templates. Let’s hear more about her influences.

Q: Which women have inspired your career path?

I’d like to mention three remarkable Brazilian artists: Ruth Kedar, the woman behind the Google logo. Bea Feitler, the woman who created some of the most iconic magazine covers of all time. And Luisa Dörr, the woman who photographed Oprah Winfrey, Hillary Clinton, Ellen DeGeneres and the other nine influential women for TIME’s magazine project “Firsts.”

Every designer remembers the feeling of their first successful product. Carolina shares her memory with us.

Q: What work are you most proud of?

Are you inspired by her incredible work? Here’s her advice to other women.

Q: What tip would you offer other women looking to work in your field?

You must understand your client’s needs and do your best to match your authenticity with their expectations. I believe a good designer is essentially a very curious person and an extraordinary observer. Also, don’t forget that there is absolutely no one else in this world like you, so acknowledge your strength, work on your weak spots, trust your inner wisdom and use your uniqueness in your favor.

Daisy

Illustrator, musician and game developer Daisy Ein is the lead artist of Super Retro Duck, an indie game developer that she co-owns. She’s also the artist behind our amazing How to Draw Natural, Textured Afro Hair series on Envato Tuts+. Here’s her advice on getting into the field.

Q: What tip would you offer other women looking to work in your field?

I think the biggest tip I’d give—as simple as it might sound is: just go for it. Whatever your creative or professional goals are, life is too short not to try. When an obstacle hits, refocus and keep trying. Don’t know something? It’s time to learn!

Q: Which women have inspired your career path?

One of my inspirations is a lovely illustrator named Rose—she goes by the pen name “barachan.” Her illustration skills and design knowledge are really out of this world. She’s self made and has been her own boss for at least the last ten years. I hope I can lift up and inspire someone, someday, the way she inspired me.

So what’s it like being an indie game developer? Daisy lets us know.

Q: What work are you most proud of?

I’d have to say my indie game, Tiny Bird Garden! I co-own Super Retro Duck (the game’s developer), and we developed and published the game ourselves. We’re a team of two, so it meant wearing a lot of different hats at once. I did the branding, motion graphics, illustrations, merchandise, music… it’s been a big part of my life for several years.

You can check out our game at TinyBirdGarden.com! It’s available for Android, iOS, PC, and Mac!

Laura

Next up is Laura Keung, a graphic designer and publication design enthusiast based in Munich, Germany. She enjoys passing her knowledge through Envato as a way of giving back to young designers who want to achieve their goals. Here are her inspirations.

Q: Which women have inspired your career path?

Throughout my studies I was lucky to attend CreativeMornings Toronto, created by Tina Roth-Eisenberg who also runs SWISSMISS.

Jessica Hische’s lettering artwork is also very inspiring. You can see her work on many magazine covers, books, and cards. She’s an inspiring woman who’s shown me that it is possible to have more than one passion project.

And giving back to the community is important for many designers, including Laura.

Q: What work are you most proud of?

I am most proud of work that has helped raise funds for charity. As a designer, I believe we can help develop brands and create visuals that will make charities more relevant and reach their goals.

Any last advice for her design sisters? Laura lends her wisdom.

Q: What tip would you offer other women looking to work in your field?

Take the leap. Whatever it is you are passionate about and scared of, take that first difficult step, run and rock it! Sometimes there’s pain and hardships involved, but it is all part of the learning process and a way to grow.

Irina

Our next feature comes from the extraordinary city of Barcelona, Spain. Designer Irina Markevich showcases tasty restaurant menus and invitations in her shop, BarcelonaDesignShop. She makes creative food illustrations by hand and shares with us her favorite designers below.

Q: Which women have inspired your career path?

One of my favorite designers is Lauren How. She is so inspiring and such a positive woman. She teaches you how to start your personal projects and how important it is to push your boundaries. Her famous article “10 Things Beyonce taught me about being a boss lady freelancer” was great; she took her lyrics and disguised it as a design talk.

Like many designers, Irina is a foodie at heart. Here’s her favorite work.

Q: What work are you most proud of?

During the last seven years, I’ve created a lot of menu templates thanks to my passion for food and design. Every new item that was created was a new step up for me. I use all my creativity to create each of my works so I can say that I am proud of all of them.

Procrastination is a problem for many creatives. Irina recommends taking the plunge in her final advice.

Q: What tip would you offer other women looking to work in your field?

Start today. Don’t wait for tomorrow, for the perfect moment, or for somebody that’s gonna tell you what to do. Every small step is better than nothing.

Genie Austin

Our final feature belongs to Genie Austin, a writer and photographer whose work has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Guardian and Envato Tuts+. Here she shares with us a few of the characteristics she admires in strong women leaders.

Q: Which women have inspired your career path?

I’m inspired by all women who buck tradition and carve their own path. Women like Serena Williams, who is uncompromisingly black and unapologetically female, and who shuts out all the noise and hate around her and just plays the game of life exactly the way she wants to play it.

Support and encouragement is a huge struggle for many new to tech and design. Genie explains her views on the subject.

Q: What work are you most proud of?

I’m very invested in a project when I’m working on it, but when it’s done, it’s in essence dead for me, and I don’t look back. What I can say, however, is that I’m happy that I’ve followed my own voice and embraced an eclectic approach to creativity and life which was very discouraged when I was growing up. My media of choice are writing, mixed-media textiles and photography. Sometimes I work with them separately and express myself quite differently in each, and sometimes I combine them, but either way, I’m glad I didn’t give in to the pressure to choose.

Like many creatives, Genie emphasizes the importance of getting involved. Here are her final words.

Q: What tip would you offer other women looking to work in your field?

There’s a lot of advice out there for women in the creative arts already, but the one thing that is rarely emphasized is the need to be informed about and engaged with the great issues of our time. As image makers, we have an enormous amount of power and sometimes a small amount of awareness of how what we do shapes the world around us.

Happy International Women’s Day!

Great advice, ladies! Today is a wonderful time to lend your voice to the new generation of design. I hope you’ve been inspired to tackle your creative projects just like the amazing women above. Thank you to all the artists who have lent their advice to this article.

I'm a digital artist with a love of all things Photoshop. Check out my tutorials for great tips on digital painting, photo manipulation, and photo effects on Envato Tuts+!
View all posts by Melody Nieves